Greetings all!
I am dealing with a super dry eye problem. I am well aware of the other posts regarding dry eyes.. but I am I trying to see if this problem is not the "standard dry eye" but more of what's close to them....
First let me mention I have been wearing contacts for around 4 years. Within the past year I have experience burning dry eyes to the point that I must remove my contacts when I come home. (After a 8hr work day in an air-controlled environment). I have experienced dry eyes, although less intense or frequent when wearing glasses. I have been wearing eyeliner by Mary Kay, (pencil, not liquid) and I wear mascara. I have recently switched mascara brands, thinking this would alleviate the problem; I have used Almay, Lancome, currently using Covergirl. Ironically, the contact solution I use is AMO complete Moisture Plus, No Rub, but of course I rub out of habit. Once before I used a Thirmerosal Free Multipurpose Solution and eyes felt better, but still dry. My brand of contacts are Biomedics55 1.50 8.6.
My tears often do not relieve my dry eyes, I don't want to get in the habit of fixing the sympton w/eye drops.
What I need from you guys.... is some suggestions of what is causing this. Has anyone used any of the above mentioned products and had similiar symptoms with contacts? I have been to my doctor and she is aware of the problem.

Thanks in advance for your feedback/suggestions, in the meantime... I'll just try this for relief :eek: :rolleyes:

Have you tried eliminating eye make-up all together to see if maybe you just can't tolerate it anymore? If your eyes are that dry then I hate to say it, but you probably shouldn't be wearing eye make-up because it will only be an irritant to your already irritated eyes. You might have to stop the contacts too. A lot of people with severe dry eyes have to give up eye make-up and contacts unfortunately. :(

You might try some preservative free artificial tears when your contacts are not in, such as Bion Tears or Thera Tears. Anything with a preservative in it will irritate you more.

Maybe there is a common ingredient in all of the contact lens solutions you have tried that is irritating you.

Did your eye doctor give any possible reasons for the dryness?

I have severe dry eye as well... have you had the Schirmer test? If your eyes fail to produce adequate quality AND quantity of tears you will have problems keeping your eyes moist enough. I read on a web site somewhere to try Omega 3 and Omega 6 capsules, and Evening Primrose Oil for blurry vision due to dry eyes. Apparently, the extra oils are needed to make the oily film that makes up part of your tears which adheres to your eyeballs and keeps them adequately moist. Also, make sure you are drinking scads and scads of water. I drink about 2 to 3 liters a day and while it helps, it's not sufficient and I have to add tons of drops and gels to my eyes. My situation is a tad different than yours... I had Lasik eye surgery and I've been left with severe dry eye and have had plugs put in my tear ducts. I don't know what the next step is for me, but I hope my eye surgeon can come up with something to help me out. As for yourself, I hope the above ideas help you a bit. Also, you might have to resort to not wearing your contact lenses so much. Try not wearing them for a couple weeks and see if that helps. If it does help, it might be your contact lenses suffocating your eyes.

SSuark & Purple,
Thanks for the information. I had not hear of the test you mentioned SSuark, can you give me more information on the procedures? And who does the test? An optometrist or someone else?
As much as I dont want to take a break from wearing the contacts, maybe thats just what I need to do. I can not imagine having dry eyes for much longer. And I'm sure my co-workers can tolerate me better with glasses rather than no makeup. :nono:
Well thanks again to both of you. Your feedback is much appreciated.

Hi - I've worn contacts for 20 years and I'm convinced it played a major role in my dry eye problem. Contacts desensitize your corneas which in turn interferes with the cornea's ability to tell your eye to produce enough tears. Oddly many eye doctors don't know about the connection between contacts and dry eyes. I can't wear contacts any more which bums me out but the discomfort of dry eyes bums me out even more.

If you still want to wear contacts I suggest using AOSept disinfectant solution which uses no preservatives, and get contacts specifically made for dry eyes (Proclear Compatibles or H20 Extreme).

An air conditioned environment is really bad for dry eyes. In fact I think this is what tipped me over into a severe dry eye problem. I would skip wearing contacts at work.

Good luck.

- Judy

jeujeu,
Thanks for your information. I am sorry to hear you were not able to wear contacts any longer. Yikes, I was hoping I don't have to take that route.
I am looking forward to trying the AOSept disinfectant solution, but I am unsure about something. Do you use a contact holder than has this "motor powered" source that washes the contacts? I seen them in the store, but did not buy them before. Or are you talking about just the solution that the contacts sit inside when not worn? I am about to open a new pack of contacts and dont want to contaminate them by using several products.

Also for the contacts that you mentioned... is that something my eye doctor would need to approve? Or could I order them online, as long as I provided my strength and size? Just wondering?

Thanks again for your information and I hope you can provide a speedy reply so I can open the new contacts with peace of mind.

If anyone else out there has any info regarding the AOSept brand, your comments are welcome.

Well, I have contacts as well and my eyes were sooooo dry when I first got them and my optometrist said that if they didn't get better soon then she would change the brand or type or size of the contacts cause that can affect how dry your eyes are. So, she gave me a sampler of "Refresh Tears" by Allergan and I used them for 2 days and the problem went away. Also, my eyes are really dry whenever I put the contacts solution at night before I go to bed I find it better if I place the contacts in the contact container first then once they are safely placed in there I put the contacts solution in there, to make sure that the solution gets on them good... might sound wierd.. but hey it worked for me. Good luck!

annonymousgirl

PS- go to your doctor and see if you can sample another contact brand, or see if your need maybe a different size.